


Unknowingly Loved

by Shermanshire



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alice is chilling in Canada, Connor Deserves Happiness, Connor isn't ready, CyberLife (Detroit: Become Human), Detectives, Deviants (Detroit: Become Human), F/M, Fluff, Kara is happy in Canada, Lauren just wants to make people happy, Luther is being good dad in Canada, Original Character(s), Plot, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Some Humor, Some angst, Sumo is a good boi, finding out the truth, lets act like Markus ended up with Simon please
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-08 13:36:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15244551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shermanshire/pseuds/Shermanshire
Summary: The Revolution is over and in spite of all the death Lauren and a handful of other Androids had to live through they were able to survive the whole ordeal in Pittsburgh. Wanting to live amongst her people may seem like a simple wish but upon her arrival at Detroit Lauren finds her wishes may be harder to obtain than she anticipated.Connor has a plan, a mission, and a hope. Finding out the truth behind the RK series is his main objective both for personal reasons and work related but, little does he know, it will bring him closer to a certain Android.





	1. -Memory-

**July 26 th **

**2023**

**11:30 A.M.**

Jennifer Sawyer walked the busy Pittsburgh streets in a relative calm, her phone trapped in her vice grip as she waits for the phone call. She’s excited, and full of jitters; it’s almost like her wedding day all over again. Her heels click against the sidewalk until Jennifer finally came to a stop in front of her favorite coffee shop. She made her way into the café with a skip in her step, she could barely contain herself and her overwhelming emotions.

            She took her normal window seat and sets her designer purse down beside her. The seats are cushioned and comfortable, the floors freshly scrubbed and washed as usual. Finding herself at a standstill, Jennifer placed her phone on the table and stares, wishing it would just ring already. She’d been waiting for an hour now and she really would like a nice cup of coffee to settle her nerves.

            As if reading her mind, the barista made his way over to her table with a smile. He wiped out his notepad and pleasantly greets her, “Mrs. Sawyer, how are you today?”

            Jennifer let out a little chuckle, a grin spreading across her face at the sound of Sebastian’s voice. “Lovely Sebastian, just a little jittery is all,” Jennifer leaned closer and beckoned Sebastian down to her level so she could whisper, “We’re finding out today if Lauren is getting her scholarship or not.”

            Sebastian’s brow shot up, nearly to his hairline as he said, “Are you serious, that’s amazing! She’s been trying to apply for months now, hasn’t she?” Jennifer nodded, letting out an airy laugh, her form deflating as her nerves began to disperse. It was always fun talking to Sebastian, he was easily excited by things and was such a kind young man. “Yes, but I’m praying today is the day she gets it, Lauren really wants to go to college soon,” Jennifer explained as she leaned back in her seat.

            She began tapping the phone absentmindedly as she’s momentarily lost in thought. She could have paid for Lauren’s tuition easily, her job at CyberLife was compensating her well especially after the success with the Chloe model. Unfortunately, Lauren wouldn’t let her, the young girl was far too independent for her own good but Jennifer couldn’t help the warm fuzzy feeling spreading throughout her chest. Lauren’s independence was admirable and, although at times annoying, Jennifer felt proud to have been graced with such an amazing daughter.

            Jennifer pointed to her phone and says, “I’m waiting for Lauren to call at the moment, it should be any minute now.”

            Sebastian hummed in reply as he clicked his pen and, without having to ask, wrote down Jennifer’s order. “So, I’m guessing you’ll want the usual to help pass the time then?” He asked with a quirk of his lips.

            Jennifer nodded gratefully, “And to calm my nerves, but talking to you has helped me enough already.”

            Sebastian gave her one last smile and, as he walked away to make her order, he yelled, “Make sure to tell me how it goes. You’ve got me curious now!”

            Jennifer laughed, a sigh of relief escaping her neatly red painted lips. She’s been coming here forever by now, trading stories and gossip with Sebastian. It’s become a pass time that Jennifer basked in. She liked to tease him about his childish infatuation with her but, then again, it wasn’t often people meet CyberLife executives in old timey cafes. 

            Five minutes later, Sebastian came back with her order, an espresso with a blue berry muffin on the side. When she noticed the muffin, Jennifer gave Sebastian a questioning look and the barista just shrugged in reply. “We had extra from yesterday, thought it would help with the wait,” He answered offhandedly. He hovered for a few moments, waiting to see if the call would magically come, but it didn’t. He frowned and, even though he would have loved to stay and wait with her, his job came first and he stalked off towards his next table.

            Ten minutes later, there was still no call. Jennifer sipped her espresso silently while her heels clicked against the floor; a nervous tick she couldn’t be bothered to suppress at the moment.

            Fifteen minutes later, her blue berry muffin was gone, the pretty little plate it came on pushed to the side. She held her head in her hands, elbows balanced on the slick black table as she stared down her phone. Now she was getting worried, she should have gotten the call a half-hour ago. The thought that maybe Lauren forgot to call crossed her mind, so she sent her a quick text just in case.

            Twenty minutes later, Jennifer hadn’t got a reply to her text and her espresso was done and gone. She still sat in the café, waiting. Sebastian had already checked on her twice, and it was evident by his expression that he was becoming worried to.

            Twenty-seven minutes later, Jennifer’s phone rang. When the familiar ring tone of her phone goes off her heart rose and plummeted at the same time. She felt light and airy, like a hundred-ton weight was hovering over her shoulders. It was the moment of truth and Jennifer could barely hold the phone in her hands as they quivered and shook.

            Finally, Jennifer hit the flickering green button and held it to her ear, but she knew instantly something was wrong. Lauren’s soft nearly monotone voice didn’t greet her in its usual cheer, it was a man’s voice that was gravely and filled with deep remorse.

            “Hello? Who is this?” Jennifer asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

            Jennifer didn’t get the reply she was hoping for…


	2. 1. Poor Androids

**January 3 rd**

**2039**

**8:09 P.M.**

**Lauren**

           The rhythmic hum of the military vehicle jolts Lauren out of her stand-by mode, her LED flickering for a split second to yellow at the sudden change of scenery. She had been going through her memory data for the past hour and to suddenly see the dark crowded vehicle again sends her reeling. Only an hour again she was seeing a beautiful evening dusk, mixed with a lovely purple and pink now it’s just nothingness. Lauren supposes she should be thankful at the very least, if her companions were human the small compartment would stink from bodily odor and would be less than pleasant for her sensors. Everyone is nervous, they’d just been thrown into the car with little information until after the fact. They are going to Detroit, which isn’t bad actually. Still, nobody really trusted humans and the way the soldiers went about rounding them up sent a few Androids’ anxiety levels sky rocketing. An hour ago, Lauren was more worried about whether someone would self-destruct rather than her own well-being, now she’s just indifferent.

            Emotions are still new to her and she can barely keep up with her own software anymore, one of the many issues she faces due to being an older mode, unfortunately. Lauren keeps telling herself it could be worse, but she finds the thought to be less than comforting for her systems.

            She looks around the dark hold and feels something rising up inside of her, something akin to dread. Red circles are scattered amongst the darkness, and her optical sensors show small percentages in the corner of her vision. Lauren realizes it’s a consensus of everyone’s anxiety levels, go figure. She was made to offer comfort and support to others, Android and human alike, and it seems her deviancy hasn’t changed that.

            In spite of the less than comfortable situation, Lauren feels a ping of joy dance across her software. She wants to help her people, not because her programming is telling her too, but because she herself wants to. Her software shows her a few different ways to help her people, along with the trade-offs to go with each decision.

            She picks to sing, not because her software thinks it’s the right choice but because she thinks it is. The fact that Lauren is capable of doing so makes her happy, she honestly feels like she’s helping people and not some machine performing a task. Still, it opens up for some insecurity since she no longer has the perfect guarantee of choice that machines do, but she wills herself on regardless.

            _Hold on, just a little while longer. Hold on, just a little while longer. Hold on, just a little while longer…_

If Lauren had one thing to be thankful for towards CyberLife, it would be her voice. It was perfect in every way and easy to control when singing. In the back of her software, her memory unit plucks out a time from before her deviancy. It was when she was caring for Mrs. Sawyer, a nice old lady who loved listening to her voice. Lauren never sung this song to her, but she’s sure she would have loved listening to it before she died.

            _Everything will be alright. Everything will be alright…_

In the corner of her optical sensors, Lauren notices her people’s anxiety percentages beginning to level out. The site sends a burst of positive feedback through her systems and it gives her the energy to keep singing.

            _Fight on, just a little while longer._ _Fight on, just a little while longer. Fight on, just a little while longer…_

The percentages are slowly falling and rather than staring at their feet or chattering nervously amongst themselves everyone’s attention is on Lauren. A few of the child models squeeze themselves in-between the crowded haul and gather around her feet. They watch in admiration as the RK100 model sings a song that slowly drifts everyone’s mind away from their nerves and to her lovely voice.

            _Everything will be alright. Everything will be alright…_

From somewhere in the back of their cramped space, another voice joins in. It’s a fairly well-known gospel song that nearly every Android is able to pick up on. Although it’s common not every Android was made with a perfect voice for singing and even though they could quickly upgrade their systems to achieve the perfection that most Androids are known for, Lauren’s system picks up on the fact that they do not attempt to do so. There’s something moving about how raw everyone’s voices sound joined in together with hers. They don’t sound bad, they sound alive and emotional and that’s all that matters.

            _We will, sing on just a little while longer. Sing on, just a little while longer._ _Sing on, just a little while longer…_

By now everyone has shifted their attentions from the humans in the front of the vehicle and their earlier fears enough to be relatively calm. Not everyone is 100 percent calm but it’s enough to make Lauren pleased with her work. At her feet the child models are smiling and have this look about them. It’s like their floating on air and without a care in the world. Lauren likes that, just as she likes how everyone’s LED’s have moved from yellow or red all the way back to a calming blue.

            _Everything will be alright. Everything will be alright…_

The song’s lyrics come to an end in her software and as her voice drops so does everyone else’s. There are a few seconds of quiet in the haul where all that can be heard is the sound of artificial breathing bouncing off the rusted walls. For a second Lauren worries the percentage on the side of her vision will begin to rise again, singing doesn’t solve problems unfortunately. All it does is help people forget about their problems for a while.

            Thankfully, her fears do not come to life and everyone seems to take a collective breath to calm themselves as they fall into a companionable silence. Coming to her senses, Lauren realizes belatedly that the child models sitting at her feet have fallen asleep; it seems their anxiety levels went so low that their systems subconsciously activated their respective sleep modes. Lauren is pleased with herself knowing that the children had been comfortable enough to sleep in this situation. Lauren has to admit, the haul is by no means comfortable, she’s just happy that it doesn’t affect her in the slightest.

            Beside her, a WR600 model thumps her shoulder and givers her a smile. “Thank you,” He whispers to her. Lauren looks over to the Android’s direction and nods in acknowledgment. Another Android must have heard the WR600 because a collective of hushed voices join in whispering their “thanks.”

            Lauren leans her back against a rusted wall and nods, she wasn’t expecting any thanks for what she did. Regardless, it feeds her systems with positive feedback and makes her smile. She isn’t comfortable with the humans driving them to Detroit and she isn’t sure what to expect when they make it to their destination but she is hopeful.

            For once, she wants things to go right like they did when she sang.

**Connor**

            He rushes down the halls of CyberLife, fixing his tie out of habit as he becomes lost in thought. Markus had sent for him earlier in the evening about the recent transport taking place in the next hour or so. It was a surprise to everyone that other Androids besides those in Detroit survived the Revolution, even Markus who held faith for the longest time. They are being taken from Pittsburgh all the way to Detroit by human military, which doesn’t sit well with anyone. Unfortunately, the US government isn’t willing to let any Android out of Detroit at the moment so it was decided that military personal would be sent out to take them.

            Connor doesn’t need his software to tell him the ride would be less than pleasant, barely anyone was happy about the Android population’s deviancy and they’d make it known. But in the event of their new arrivals everyone is buzzing with activity. Their people are getting homes set up, jobs ready, ID cards made and readying themselves to update their consensus.

            With everything going on Connor still finds himself pleased. He wishes more of them had survived; he still feels a little guilty that while working for the DPD he caused the destruction of a few deviants himself. Still, if even a few are coming to Detroit then he is okay, things will be okay.

            He rounds a corner of the once lavish CyberLife office, which now stands as a hollow shell of its former self. Connor can’t help but be proud of himself for helping take it all down.     

            At the very end of the corridor, which is surrounded by large glass windows looking over the city below, Connor finds himself in front of Markus’s office. He straightens his tie one last time along with his jacket before knocking. In a heartbeat Connor hears a quick, “Come in!” before entering through the automatic doors.

            Inside is Markus in his notorious long beige jacket overlooking the panoramic view below him. After becoming a deviant Connor is able to hold opinions outside of his mission requirements and software so he is, thankfully, able to admit the view of Detroit from CyberLife tower is rather lovely in the evening. A good majority of Detroit doesn’t have power, mostly because no one lives in certain areas and to help save power. Yet, there is something pleasing about the darkness sweeping across the city that Connor can’t quite pinpoint.

            “Connor, thank you for coming so quickly,” Markus greets, instantly bring Connor back to attention. Markus motions for him to take a seat and Connor takes it gratefully.

            “Is something wrong?” Connor asks worriedly. The last thing Connor wants is for something to go wrong with their new people before they even get here.

            Markus purses his lips and moves over to his desk to take out a digital notebook. He sits down across from Connor and slides him the stack of data. Connor takes them, giving Markus a curious look as he scans the files only to feel his artificial heart sink.

            “An RK100 model is coming here?” He asks, his voice filled with shock as he physically flips through the files.

            Markus takes in Connor’s reaction before replying; his LED has gone blue to yellow in a split second and it seems keen on staying that honey mustard color. Markus isn’t surprised, he was shocked himself when discovering the files sent by the government.

            He leans forward and points at the image of the RK100 model. Her name is registered as Lauren and she was previously owned by Jennifer Sawyer, a now deceased CyberLife executive who was the head of the RK prototype line. Lauren appears in the photo with pale olive skin, chin length brown hair and hazel eyes. Her features were sharp and rather pleasing to the eye but her overall appearance was reminiscent of Jennifer Sawyer’s. It is a peculiar fact but with such little information on the model Markus isn’t willing to delve deeper into that train of thought.

            “I need you to look into her when she gets here, it’s imperative to our investigation,” Markus explains plainly.

            Connor slowly places the file back down onto the table while spreading his fingers over the smooth glass screen. This was a stroke of luck his software hadn’t even accounted for while investigating the RK prototype line. It was, exceptional and fed Connor some semblance of hope. Maybe he really could find out the truth like he and Markus had hoped.     

            “Look into?” Connor asks, mostly to confirm whether Markus believes this would be the right course of action.

            He nods, “Spend time with her, ask her questions. Make sure she understands what we are hoping to glean from the RK line,” Markus pauses to smile, “She may even join the investigation herself.”

            Connor opens his mouth to say something, but he quickly shuts it. He still isn’t used to talking about his opinions but, if he were being perfectly honest, Connor doubts she’d become a part of the investigation. Lauren might grant them some useful information but if a high-tech detective Android is struggling with this investigation (much to Connor’s dismay) then he doubts any other Android would want to be a part of it.

             Taking a deep breath, Connor nods. “I’ll go wait at the station for her then, I’m sure our people will be arriving soon,” Connor states before getting up from his velvet red chair.

            Markus watches as Connor walks to his door before yelling out a quick, “Good luck.” Connor stops in his tracks, turns, and gives Markus his signature barely their grin. Markus isn’t sure if Connor even understood how to smile but he could appreciate his best efforts.

            And with that, the door shuts behind Connor with an audible ‘click’ as he makes his way to Detroit’s border.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are able to glean something about Lauren's growing personality from this first chapter alone. I plan on going into her backstory later but, just for future reference, she became a deviant very late into the Revolution so a lot of this fic is her self-exploration (and romance but ye). Also where are all the OC Android/Connor fics? I think it's a very interesting dynamic to explore because there are so many ways to go about it. But anyways I went through so many drafts for this story. Like originally Lauren was a human detective and there was going to be this whole murder mystery thing she was going to solve with Connor but then I realized that it was way to complicated to write and I just chucked it. I had a variation of that where all these Android smugglers were getting murdered (OC being one of them) but overall Lauren (my sweet baby girl) was supposed to be named Dahlia and be super bitchy but I scrapped it. I really wanted to name Lauren something well known and something you would hear in real life, like, how many Dahlia's have you met in life compared to Lauren's? Anyways long tangent over, thank you for reading! Make sure to comment how you felt, I thrive off of that shit.


	3. 2. The Higher I Go the Harder I Fall

**Lauren**

            _They crawled out from the sewers, artificial skin covered in muck and grime, their bodies mutilated and broken. Lauren felt her joints loosening, body breaking from the lack of thirium flow. She’ll last, her self diagnostics told her, but she’s still afraid. She’s still afraid that this would be the last time she saw the bright shining sun above her, that she would be destroyed by the humans surrounding her small helpless group. A small irrational part of her wanted to fight them with their big scary guns and menacing uniforms, but Lauren wasn’t made for fighting, none of them were._

            _She looked around, optical sensors dancing across her fellow Androids. They’re suffering without even feeling any pain and Lauren couldn't tell if that’s a blessing or a curse. Kneeling, Lauren felt the full weight of their situation crashing down upon her systems. They were caught, the Revolution failed, her people are going to die. If this was what it meant to be alive, to only fear and exist for her untimely death then she wished she never deviated._

            _“Please,” She whispered, her voice hoarse from crying. She looked around at the soldiers, she could barely see their faces behind their helmets. Were they sneering at her people? Laughing perhaps? Or maybe they were staring down at her in indifference. Lauren supposed it didn’t matter in the end though; they’ll be gunned down like animals if the humans were told to do so by their superiors._

_At her side, she heard a few other Androids fall, their bodies giving out under the stress of their injuries. She whimpered, Lauren didn’t want it all to end here. One of the soldiers held his fingers up to his ear piece and muttered something indistinguishable to Lauren’s sensors. After a few moments of muttering into his ear piece, he signaled for his fellow officers to put away their arms._

_Lauren watched in shock as the humans holstered their weapons and barked out orders to one another, something about ‘spare parts’ and ‘get engineers.’ As a shaky calm ascended over her group Lauren found the energy to crawl towards her people, her systems overwhelmed with emotional feedback. She attempted to stem the bleeding of a few lesser fortunate models as she waited for what Lauren assumed would be help to arrive. To think only a few days ago they were safely hidden and dwelling in the sewers, scraping for parts and dying slow deaths. Now, humans were helping them? Lauren didn’t trust them and found the situation to be less than acceptable but she’ll take what she can to stop the suffering of her people._

_After a while of rushing and moving the human soldiers and newly introduced engineers erected a shelter for her people. They’re tinkered with and put back together, though it didn’t go without a few punches thrown on both sides. No one trusted anyone but as the engineers started flowing in with blue blood pouches and pristine biocomponents for her people they, hesitantly, took the humans’ help._

_Some of them died, others suffer from permanent damage but the engineers assured them it won’t cripple them in any major ways. Lauren had been washed and given a fresh pair of clothes, human clothes and not an Android uniform. It was humbling wearing something she’d been denied for so long. Lauren then found herself wandering aimlessly throughout the shelter after being cared for, offering her help here and there when needed._

_After a few days of fixing and recovery her people were shoved into military vehicles. She wasn’t worried they’d be destroyed, the humans just took the time to fix them and reporters knew they existed. There would be public outcry, but with an unknown destination and less than accommodating carriers it was no wonder why everyone was on edge._

_But, deep in her anxiety ridden systems, a ping of hope rose up when they’re finally informed of their destination. They were going to Detroit, they were going home._

**January 4 th **

**2039**

**12:03 A.M.**

Lauren blinks a few times, trying to regain some semblance of reality as her systems start up again from stand-by mode. When had she powered down anyways? Groaning, Lauren brushes her fingers along her temple with a frown. Becoming a deviant is introducing her to so many new experiences but one of them is involuntary shut down. Lauren doesn’t feel it’s a bad thing necessarily, she just views it as the Android version of sleeping but acclimating to it is hard at times.

            Besides, it at least gives her systems time to sort through her memory storage. She doesn’t need to be aware to do such a simple function but sometimes a file will drift across her optical sensors and she’ll _see_ it happening all over again. Lauren doesn’t feel or hear the memory happening, she just watches it through her sensors and its… almost like the Android version of human dreaming. She never really had a reason to do it before becoming a deviant so re-watching an encounter is rather strange for Lauren. Not unwelcome however, sometimes she’ll remember her time with Mrs. Sawyer or other fond memories. Sadly, she’s not always lucky enough to witness nice, simple to understand memories.

It’s seemingly random and no matter how many times she tries to adjust her algorithms so that it’s not Lauren can’t quite seem to get it right. The memory file she went though last was from about a week ago, the moment where her people were discovered by the military.

            It feels like years ago from now, but it;s still fresh in her systems. It was… a very horrible moment Lauren doesn’t prefer to think about to much. She’s just happy most of her people made it out safely, though there are a few who were less fortunate. Remembering their burnt artificial flesh and damaged parts is nearly painful for Lauren and a sick reminder of those she couldn’t save. She's aware it isn’t her responsibility but it still eats at her systems bit by bit.

            Guilt is, unfortunately, a very strong emotion.

            Before Lauren can spiral she feels the vehicle come to an abrupt stop. She blinks, her LED flickering to yellow as she scans haul. The humans driving have left their seats, they must have arrived at Detroit. Her shoulders slump, it's the moment of truth. The doors would open and either they’d see Detroit or some foreign area were they are surely be destroyed.

            Still, with those possibilities in mind, Lauren finds herself strangely calm. Whatever is about to happen would happen and it's beyond her system’s control, but her fellow Androids don’t seem to have the same mindset. They are jittery, shifting restlessly in the haul. She would love to comfort them, but at this point she has to agree with her systems even if it did irk her a bit.

            There is nothing she can possibly do for them right now, so she waits.

            Drawing her legs close to her chest she watches the haul’s large double doors like a hawk with bated breath. A minute goes by of complete silence until, suddenly, the doors flip wide open. Lauren feels her artificial breath catch as she stares out into the snowy parking lot.

            “Alright everyone, get out one by one. No pushing!” One of the two soldiers order to her group.

            Her LED flickers again to a deep red and then back to blue as she watches her people begin to move. They, of course, do not follow the soldiers’ orders and they instead hop out of the haul in bulks. Suddenly a wave of calm falls over Lauren as she scans the fencing and building out past the parking lot. It’s the border to Detroit, Lauren made it.

            The sudden realization is so surreal until she feels something tugging on her arm. She glances down to see the WR600 model from earlier pulling her out of the haul. “Come on, we should go. The soldiers are starting to get bitchy” He urges. Lauren licks her lips out of habit as she takes a quick glance at the soldiers, and he’s right. They aren’t wearing helmets so she can see how absolutely annoyed they are at the current situation. She frowns, it’s clear as day that they don’t want to be here. At least the feeling is mutual, Lauren can’t help but think as she hops out of the haul.

            The WR600 model bolts off towards the rest of the group as they stand huddled, waiting for further instructions. There are still a few more Androids working their way out, mostly the children since they’re so tiny. Lauren wants to go over and offer her help, but the soldiers make quick work of moving them to the icy pavement. Lauren winces, they are borderline throwing them out of the haul. She wants to go over and bicker with them about their behavior but Lauren’s systems constantly reminder her who has the guns here and who doesn’t.

            She doesn’t think they’ll shoot her but they could sure as hell use them as leverage to get Lauren to shut her mouth. Lauren knows when to pick and chose her battles so she rushes over to the kids and hurries them along. Out of the corner of her eye she can see another vehicle unloading more of her people, and she feels a little less tense.

            There aren’t many of them but the couple dozen that survived is better than none, at least that’s what Lauren keeps telling herself. She still feels a little pang of guilt that there isn’t more of them here, they lost so many. But she knows it’s not her fault and although she can’t help but blame herself Lauren carries on with the kids until they reach the rest of the group.

             It takes approximately 6 minutes and 48 seconds until everyone is out of the haul. A few Androids attempt to bolt off towards the border, which is covered with chain-link fencing. The soldiers groan but make little to no effort at stopping them; they simply stand idle with their hands trained on their holsters. For a split second, Lauren worries they really will whip out their guns until she hears a booming voice echo through the winter chilled air.

            “Everyone! It’s a pleasure to meet you! Welcome to Detroit!”

            Lauren looks in the direction of the voice to find a blond-haired Android, arms raised high in the air to grab their attention. Everyone’s’ focus falls to him, even the soldiers, as he continues to speak in a soothing manner.

            “My name is Simon, and I will be helping you adjust to your new homes!” He announces with a smile. In reply, Lauren’s people cheer, smiles spreading wide across their faces. She sees a few hugs, others pat one another on the back but overall everyone is happy. Lauren smiles, she knew they had made it to safety the moment the haul’s doors opened but having the truth cemented into her by another one of her people is rather enlightening. She hadn’t known she needed this until right now at this very moment, but that doesn’t make her any less giddy.

            “First of all, we will need you all to calmly make your way to the processing station over there!” He points in the direction of an old postal service building before continuing, “There we will ID you and add you to our records, we will explain what happens next later!”

            A few murmurs pass through the crowd before everyone, calmly, begins walking towards the station. Now, Lauren isn’t one to spite others but she can’t help but smirk. Of course, her people would completely disregard a human’s orders but not even question following an Android’s. As she makes her way to the station she spares a quick glance back to the soldiers, her smirk falling.

           They were gone, go figure.  

* * *

            Lauren holds the door open for a few of her people until someone kindly relieves her so she can enter the station. The ceilings are high and her scans give her an exact age to the place. She feels her jaw go slack in a moment of disbelief, humans actually kept this place in spite of its outdatedness. Lauren counts it as a miracle as she walks inside with a skip in her step.

            Lauren is finally beginning to fall into a steady calm, things were going to be different now. No more darkness, no more filth, no more fears just hope. She looks around, there are a few mismatched tables set up in what used to be a lobby. Behind them were Androids of all different makes, and she frowns. Lauren is so used to seeing Androids forced into these kinds of jobs that it barely registers in her systems that they probably volunteered to do this.

           Hesitantly, she walks up to a relatively none crowded desk and attempts to greet the lady behind it. Her hair was a deep auburn, and her eyes a lovely shade of blue. Before Lauren can open her mouth the lady cuts her off. “Hello, my name is Izzy,” She says with a smile. Lauren notes, belatedly, that Izzy’s smile seems genuine rather than programmed and, might she add, very pretty.

           “Hello, I’m Lauren,” Lauren replies quickly.

           “Alright Lauren, we’re just going to ID you. Can you please put your hand on this pad here for identification?” She asks pleasantly.

           She nods, this isn’t surprising to her. She doesn’t expect the Androids in Detroit to not keep count of their population. She heard back in Pittsburgh from the soldiers that their numbers ranged in the thousands, it isn’t safe having so many people go unchecked.

           Without any hesitation, Lauren lies her palm down flat on the offending pad, her artificial skin peeling back to show the covered white mechanical bits. There’s a small pause until a satisfying ding pops up from the monitor in front of Izzy. Her lips form into a thin white line, her LED flickering briefly to yellow before she opens her mouth.

           “You’re an RK100 model?” Izzy asks skeptically.

           “Yes, why? Is there something wrong?” Lauren asks worriedly. Izzy pauses and then shakes her head, lips curling back into her earlier smile. Lauren blinks a few times in confusion, Izzy is so expressive. Lauren mildly envied that fact, but she quickly smothers the ugly emotion. She’d get better at expressing herself, Lauren tries thinking. Letting her faults get to her isn’t going to do anything.

           “No, I apologize. It's just that we don’t see many RK models but… That shouldn’t matter,” Izzy explains. Lauren gently tilts her head to the side, Izzy’s voice sounds… strained. Lauren wonders if she’s lying to her, but can’t find any reason for her to, at least a logical one. Before her mind can wander, Izzy slides her a piece of digital paper.

           Lauren takes it and allows her systems a quick scan. It was her physical ID, it has her model info as well as her promotional photo from when she was being marketed. She looked different back then, her hair was naturally straight rather than knotted and her eyes were so lively yet filled with a deep mirth Lauren can’t explain. Lauren misses that girl, not for her disposition but for her appearance. It’s safe to say the months of lurking in the sewers and botched self-repairs haven’t done her much good.

           Lauren looks up to thank Izzy but, when she catches the Android’s gaze for a split second, she freezes. It’s hard to explain what Lauren is looking at exactly. Izzy’s blue eyes are squinted in disdain, her lips tugging downwards into a bitter frown. She seems disgusted, but why? Lauren lets her systems backtrack for a second, looking over their encounter to see if she’s done anything to spur on such a look.

           It comes back negative and, suddenly, Lauren is tongue tied. Maybe her appearance has disgusted her? Or she could have done something to insult her, but Lauren’s systems can’t seem to give her a straight answer even after adding in new variables. So, she asks, or tries to anyways.

           When Lauren goes to open her mouth, Izzy plasters on a smile and asks her in the most pleasant voice possible, “Lauren, if you’ll proceed to the doors on your left, I would greatly appreciate it. A queue has lined up behind you.”

           Blinking in confusion, Lauren glances behind her to see a few other antsy looking Androids patiently awaiting their turn. Artificially, Lauren blushes in embarrassment as she nods her head in acknowledgment to Izzy’s request. “Thank you, sorry,” She mutters as she rushes out of the way.

           Lauren makes a beeline for the doors Izzy mentioned and slowly allows her systems to dull her embarrassment. How lost in thought had she been for her own systems to be so unaware? It's worrying, and Lauren sets up a reminder for herself to go get it checked out. She may have been an older model but that is way too much time lag for comfort, in Lauren’s opinion.

           Shoving her ID into her back pocket, Lauren continues making her way to the large glass doors ahead of her but she can’t help but think of Izzy just a little bit. The receptionist was defiantly acting strange, but it could all just be in Lauren’s head. She hopes it is, but something bugs her systems into a tizzy. Why the hell was the girl’s last smile so forceful? It was almost like she could barely contain… something.

           Lauren sighs, if she were a human she could totally use the excuse of it being way too early in the morning for such thoughts, but she can’t. Lauren feels no mental or physical exhaustion; thus, the explanation loses all and any reasoning, but she’ll use it anyways. Anything is better than spiraling into some thought process her systems can’t solve.

           Upon arrival at the thick glass doorway she gives the metal handles a tug and they open along with a quick gust of cold air. Even though the cold doesn’t bother her, Lauren shivers involuntarily. There were just some things in her programming she can’t override, unfortunately, but at least it doesn’t bother Lauren much.

           Tugging on her plaid scarf so that it covers her ears, Lauren begins making her way outside, towards a group of her people. She smiles, everyone looks so excited. It’s been such a long time since Lauren saw her people this way, and it fills her with endless joy.

           “Excuse me!” A voice shouts from behind her.

           Confused, her systems pick up on movement from behind her, and running in her direction. She gives the movement a quick glance, allowing the doors to slam shut in front of her. She winces, Lauren didn’t anticipate it would be so loud we she let the handle slip past her finger tips.

           “Excuse me!” The voice calls again but this time it’s closer.

           Deciding to give it her full attention, Lauren turns on her heels to see a tall Android running in her direction or trying to anyways. He’s attempting to weave through the crowd of bustling Androids and is doing quite well, actually. But it’s taking him time, though the moment he sees he’s caught Lauren’s attention, the Android seems to calm somewhat.

           Lauren decides to wait patiently and step to the side so that others can use the door. She can’t think what he would possibly want with her, but she does a quick scan of her systems and self to make sure she hasn’t malfunctioned or lost something. Everything comes back fine, so all Lauren can do is stand idly for the man to finally catch up.

           After passing through the last burst of Androids, he stops to let out a quick huff. Lauren smiles, feeling slightly bad that he had to go crowd jumping to get to her. At least he can’t get fatigue though, that’s somewhat comforting to think about.

           “Hello,” Lauren greets, giving the Android a curious look as his LED whirls a bright shade of yellow.

           “Hello, I apologize for not getting to you earlier. You’re Lauren, correct?” He asks.

           Lauren knits him a brow before fishing her ID out of her back pocket. She’s not sure why he’s asking, the guy seems like a newer model. He could probably just scan her to confirm she’s, in fact, Lauren but he might be asking just to be courteous. If that’s the case, Lauren finds it quite nice. She may be an Android but Lauren can appreciate the smaller inconsequential things of making good conversation. 

           “Um yes,” Lauren answer while holding up her ID. The man looks in over a few times, eyes blinking once or twice while he does what Lauren assumes is a scan.

           Suddenly, her artificial heart sinks as she worries that something, anything, could be wrong. Her mind goes to irrational thoughts that she could have possibly done something wrong, but her systems correct her. Nothing (possibly Izzy) has gone wrong since coming here, but Lauren didn’t just crawl her way up and out of the sewers to be plagued with doubts.

           Setting her jaw and standing just a little bit straighter Lauren asks, “Is there an issue?”

           Collecting himself, the man goes to fix his tie and gives her a polite smile. Lauren blinks in a brief moment of confusion, what the hell is going on? She isn’t getting angry necessarily but this is just weird. First there’s Izzy, now this? Her systems buzz with activity as it tries to process what exactly is going on.

           “None at all Lauren,” The man confirms as he offers Lauren his hand. She knits him a brow but takes it regardless and gives it a good shake. “My name is Connor.”

           Lauren’s mouth forms into a large ‘O’ as she gives Connor a quick scan and once over. He was tall, especially so in comparison to her short stature. He had slicked back brown hair with only a handful of strands coming lose to stick to his forehead. He had deep brown eyes and a few moles dotting his face. His features are so striking and well put together that Lauren finds herself marveling at them for a moment. Connor seems so alive even while he just stands there with his hands held behind his back.

           Lauren finds him… handsome, to say the very least. She’s not use to forming opinions on her own kind however, mostly because their appearances are manufactured. It shouldn’t be an issue but constantly knowing they were made to look a certain way for human benefits takes away the magic of meeting someone truly beautiful.

           Letting out a small sigh, Lauren looks Connor in the eyes and gives him a small smile. “Well it’s a pleasure to meet you Connor, but I’m guessing you didn’t chase me through the lobby just to greet me. Is there something you need?”

           Connor looks down at her, his LED slowing changing back into a calming blue. He glances around and then back to her, his expression suddenly turning serious. “I know we just met, but I must ask you for your cooperation in my current investigation,” He informs her plainly.

           Blinking, Lauren takes a moment for her systems to process his request. He is quite blunt, she’ll give him that much. Lauren isn’t even sure what the investigation is about and he’s asking for her assistance, strange. She’s not against helping someone if she can but it’s a little disheartening. She just got to Detroit, her new home, and Lauren can’t even take the time to settle down before being asked to do something.

           Still, if he’s asking for her cooperation Connor is probably only going to ask her a few questions. Lauren, in spite of her slight annoyance, doesn’t see the harm in complying, as long as she knows for sure what’s going on. If she’s waited this long to find peace, she reasons, a few more minutes isn’t going to hurt her.

           “If you’re just going to question me, I don’t particularly mind,” She replies hesitantly. Connor looks at her in what Lauren thinks is shock and she almost lets a chuckle slip past her lips. He looks rather silly, with his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. But Lauren brushes it off and continues. “But if I’m going to help I need to know what this investigation is about. I didn’t just crawl out from the sewers to be dragged into something blindly,” She reasons, her voice gaining a slight edge as she goes on.

           Connor collects himself quickly, arms coming out from their clutches behind his back to fall limply at his side. His LED pulses again between blue and yellow before he nods. “Of course, I don’t see an issue explaining,” He replies.

           Lauren finally lets out a huff at his compliancy, that was rather easy. She’s not even sure why her systems had gotten so riled up, it seems Connor is a rather reasonable Android. Connor motions with his hand for her to follow before saying, “Walk with me?”

           Not seeing any reason to argue, Connor takes her outside and pass the double glass doors. As they walk, she passes by the group of her cheerful people. They are breaking off into groups of two and branching out in different directions. She watches with a skeptical look as her people slowly disperse.

           She gently tugs on Connor’s sleeve and points at the group, “What are they doing,” Lauren asks with a hint of worry in her tone. Connor gazes down at her and Lauren can feel his eyes on the back of her head but she doesn’t meet them. She’s far more concerned with her people than anything else at the moment.

           “They’re being given guides and getting personal tours around the city,” Connor explains helpfully. Finally, Lauren turns to meet Connor’s eyes and he seems rather pleased. It’s a nice look on him, Lauren thinks. His lips are twisted into a subtle smile and his eyes practically glow in the lowly lit streets with emotion.

           But, Lauren shoves her observation into the back of her system's processors in favor of asking more questions.

           “And then what?” She asks eagerly.

           “Then they’ll be given homes, all of which were cleaned and tidied prior to your arrival,” Connor replies instantly.

           Lauren hums in satisfaction, sounds better than living in the sewers she thinks. Well, then again, anything is better than living in sewers but she digresses. “Thank you, my people and I really did need this,” Lauren says softly.

           Connor pauses and then nods. “I think… We needed this too.”

           “Really?”

           Messing with his tie, again, Connor further explains. “We’ve been rebuilding since the Revolution and constantly working. None of us ever thought anyone besides the 3,486 of us in Detroit survived,” Connor pauses to smile, “It’s nice knowing more of us are out there, even if it’s only a few.”

           Lauren looks at Connor for a second and finds herself smiling as well. She never really gave much thought on what the Androids in Detroit felt about their return. She was mostly to caught up in her own pile of anxieties and sympathies to even wonder. At least now she has some handle on it, Lauren thinks. 

           After that, they walk in a companionable silence; Connor staring off into the distance while Lauren sucks in the sights. The only thing luminating this side of the city were a few lampposts, but it looks rather pretty. A fresh layer of snow overs the streets and buildings lined up on both sides of the freshly shoveled roads. Pittsburgh, or at least what she saw of it, was run down and had a strange mix of brick and sleek glass buildings every were she looked. In Detroit, even after the Revolution, everything seems so new and modern. It makes her giddy to see it all, or rather when she sees it all. The thought draws her attention to another matter, making her gasp. The sudden reaction catches Connor by surprise, his LED whirling a deep yellow before moving back to a calming blue.

           Lauren can see his mouth moving, but she cuts him off. “Connor where are you taking me?” She asks worriedly. And, yet again, her systems betray her. Lauren needs to get her priorities straight and stop letting her mind wander.

           Connor gives her a weird look but collects himself and replies, “To your house.”

           “My house?”

           He nods while still giving her a funny look, “I thought you’d be more comfortable while being questioned at your new home… Was I wrong?”

           Lauren takes a deep artificial breath to calm herself. She feels a little embarrassed for her sudden outburst but she dulls the emotion purposely as a means of answering Connor. “No, you’re good. Taking me home is… good,” Lauren pauses as she realizes something else.

           Groaning, Lauren slaps her hand to her forehead. Poor Connor, he must think she’s having some system breakdown our something because she can barely contain herself. It’s so infuriating knowing that Lauren, a god damn Android made for total perfection, can get side tracked. She feels like a complete air head and silently laments over the fact before allowing her systems to compose herself.

           “Lauren?” Connor asks, his brow creased in worry as he stares down at her.

           “Yes! Sorry, sorry…” Lauren’s voice trails off as she deliberates whether she should be honest with Connor. She could totally tell him about how clunky her systems are and feel the closest thing to Android self-consciousness possible but that idea is less than appealing.

           “I, uh, just remembered you haven’t explained anything about the investigation is all,” Lauren finishes quickly.

           Connor purses his lips in confusion as he looks at Lauren and she can literally feel his skepticism radiating off of him in waves. Of course, he knows something is up, Lauren wasn’t exactly subtle about her mini freak-out. But for some reason he snaps his mouth shut and drops the confused look, with some hesitation. She’s not sure why he did it but Lauren remains silently thankful.

           “To answer your question,” Connor begins while fishing around in his pockets. Lauren glances down to find his hands pull out a pair of car keys, the older ones that weren’t just slips of metal and scanners. He clicks a button and car just a few feet away lights up with a loud ‘honk.’

           It's surprising to see out of all the cars still left behind in Detroit, Connor chose to use some cheep old hunk of rust. It kind of gives Connor more layers to a personality Lauren has yet to know and possibly will never know. The thought makes her indifferent though, but she’s more concerned at the moment about the investigation than building bonds.

           “I’ve been asked to look into the RK model line. We have reason to believe that it may have been some sort of catalyst for the Revolution,” Connor answers as he opens the passenger side door.

           Lauren sighs, now it makes sense why they would need her. If they have access to her files than they probably found out about Mrs. Sawyer, figures. The idea of talking about Mrs. Sawyer doesn’t fill her with anything but dread. Their time together was different, sacred even. Even if she was a simple machine back then, created and tasked with following orders, Lauren still cherishes those days but talking about her former master's line of work always sent Lauren into a bad mood. It just doesn't feel right, for some odd reason or other.

           But, since she had already agreed to help Connor, backing down isn’t an option now. Regardless of whether she wants to or not answering a few questions under these new circumstances shouldn’t be to difficult.

           Plopping down into the passenger seat with a heavy heart, Lauren does her best to give Connor a smile. “Thanks,” Is all she says before Connor shuts the car door.

           Leaning back in the leathery seat, Lauren closes her eyes and basks in the brief moment of darkness clouding her optical sensors. The nothingness is simple and made her feel so distant from the future she was going to have to come to terms with.

           At her side she can feel Connor hop into the car, the vehicle gently shaking in protest as he slams the door shut. Beneath her seat Lauren can feel the engine come to life with a dull thrumming noise. There’s a small pause before the car begins moving down the freshly shoveled roads.

           Opening her eyes, Lauren sends Connor a quick glance. He seemed rather focused on driving at the moment and Lauren can only wonder what he’s thinking. He seems so calm for someone tasked with finding an impossible truth, or at least that’s what Lauren thinks. She can’t even fathom why they would need to know the truth, but it’s just another thought that would send her systems into a spiral so she opts to drop it.

           Instead, Lauren leans her head against the window and watches Detroit pass her by. She’s done with thinking at the moment, Lauren just wants a few peaceful moments of nothingness as the world passes her by. As she takes in the sensation of the window’s smooth cold surface Lauren lets a small sigh slip past her lips.

           Why can’t things ever be simple?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lauren is a lil 5'foot air head who will stab a bitch later if I have anything to say about it. Next chapter defiantly in Connor's perspective. It's fun writing Lauren tho like, thinking of how Androids can be airheads was so fun and then IMPLEMENTING it into the story is gonna be superb. Lauren is def gonna be low-key pissed all the time and still not know how to show it. Connor boy you better be fucking ready because Lauren is gonna care about him so HARD. BTW sorry if a few bits seem lazy, I edit this myself and sometimes can't be bother to make everything 100%.  
> But thanks for reading hope you guys enjoy your days.

**Author's Note:**

> So I have little self control and just finished Detroit Become Human and OMFG I'M DYING IN THE CLUB RIGHT NOW. Regardless I have another work going on right now but I got a spark of inspiration and had to vomit this idea I had in my out onto this website for you guys' reading pleasure. So ya, I am going to be uploading one of these -Memory- chapters along with an actual chapter chapter because they don't really move the plot along but they are important. Thanks for reading!


End file.
